Bosun's chairs are commonly used to allow access to elevated locations. Bosun's chairs may include chairs ranging from a bare board to more elaborate designs, but what they have in common is the ability to be suspended from a rope or cord. When used on a boat, for example, one may use a bosun's chair to maintain sails or masts, install new fittings, change light bulbs, check or tape the rigging, or maintain other elevated portions of the boat.
An obvious problem relating to the use of a bosun's chair results from the use of a cord in combination with a winch and/or a person to raise the chair and maintain it in an elevated position. Particularly, a failure of the cord holding the bosun's chair, a winch, or the person holding the cord could result in injury or death to its occupant.
Thus, there is a need for safety systems and methods for bosun's chairs, particularly to improve safety in the event of the failure of a cord holding a bosun's chair.